A street poll held in Bishops Castle by South Shropshire Green Party showed that over 95% of people surveyed wanted both of Shropshire's Accident and Emergency departments to remain open.

The results of the group's survey, which was also conducted in five other towns across the county, were released ahead of an announcement of a decision by the NHS Future Fit programme set to take place tomorrow evening, January 29, in Newport, Shropshire.

In August 2017, the Clinical Commissioning Group Joint Committee confirmed that its preferred option was for the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to become Shropshire and Mid Wales' only Emergency Care site and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital would become a 'Planned Care' site with a downgraded emergency care unit.

But the move has proved controversial in East Shropshire, with Telford residents pointing to the town's growing population and the already over-stretched services at both sites as evidence that both A&E's should remain open.

In response, the South Shropshire Green Party ran street stalls in six south Shropshire towns to offer people the chance to express their views, with 95.4% of those surveyed in Bishops Castle saying both should be retained.

Hilary Wendt, Coordinator of South Shropshire Green Party, said: "This is the clearest and strongest public message to the Future Fit Board that both Shrewsbury and Telford A&Es must remain open to serve emergency needs in these growing principal Shropshire towns and for their rural catchment populations."

"Whether the emergency be road, farming, industrial, domestic or any other serious injury or illness, in such emergencies the vital point is that every second counts. The geography of Shropshire and adjacent areas in Wales and Telford absolutely requires two fully functional A&E facilities.

"Distances are huge, road conditions build-in delay, ambulance services are under intense pressure and anything that causes delay when a small child has suspected meningitis or an older resident has a heart attack is contrary to well-known health care principles and is unacceptable.

"If getting fast to the nearest emergency care isn't critical when needed, why do ambulances have blue lights and sirens and why is the provision of air ambulances so important?"

"Shropshire people know this obvious reality and have made their position crystal clear which the Future Fit Board must heed. We are a rich nation and our claim to be civilised relies on us having the best emergency health care in the places we need it - and that means retaining our A&Es at our hospitals in Shrewsbury and Telford"

"The Future Fit proposed building of a new £312 million Emergency Centre hospital in Shrewsbury does not dictate nor make necessary losing Telford's A&E. The Future Fit Joint Board must not ignore the clear will of the people."

An announcement on the NHS Future Fit programme's decision will be announced at a public meeting at Harper Adams University tomorrow night.

The meeting will be live streamed via a webcast that can be accessed at www.nhsfuturefit.org